Fritz-League featured artist show rescheduled at the Art Center

Special to the Trail-Gazette

Posted:
10/04/2013 09:00:54 AM MDT

Winter on the Farm by Bill Fritz.

An azurite pendant by Alice League

The last few weeks have been challenging for all in Estes Park and the surrounding areas. The Art Center of Estes Park has been fortunate through it all, sustaining only damage to the telephone lines. The center however have to cancel its featured artists' reception in September. The reception for "Designs in Nature" featuring oil paintings by Bill Fritz and jewelry by Alice League has been rescheduled for Friday, Oct. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. The show will run through Nov. 10, 2013. Also featured in the sun room is the art work of clients of the Estes Valley Victim Advocates.

Fall is Coming by Bill Fritz.

Fritz graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. Fritz spent his career as executive art director and creative director for large advertising agencies. He won numerous creative awards in both print and television advertising. Some of the accounts he worked on included: Pillsbury, General Mills, Better Homes and Gardens, Eli Lily (Elanco Products), Pioneer Seeds and John Deere.

Bill and his wife, Dana, moved to Estes Park seventeen years ago where he developed an interest in oil painting. He has taken workshops from Cathy Goodale, Karol Mack, Robert Johnson, Jim Biggers and Margaret Jensen.

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1n 2012 Bill's work has been accepted in the annual "Lines into Shapes" national juried exhibition where he won the First Place award in the Oil Painting category. He has also won both Best of Show and Honorable Mention in the Cultural Arts Center annual fall show.

League is an artist who chooses wire as a medium and is destined to have a very unique relationship with it. Its pliability and endless experimental possibilities often result in wire becoming greater than itself, and what began as a mere 12 inches of gold filled wire ends as a dynamic frame enhancing the gem it encircles.

Abalone shell pendant and earrings by Alice League

League loves wire. She also likes people. Her background is in administration and for 45 years her 'day job' focused on working with people. With so much time spent organizing people, projects and money, she didn't have time to develop her creative side. So making a piece of wearable art from a piece of wire and a mineral cabochon brings out her creative side. League has been designing a variety of mineral and fossil pendants, bracelets, necklaces and earrings since 1999.

League uses 14/20 gold filled or sterling silver square wire for her pendant creations. Wire is so versatile that one is not limited to set sizes, shapes, or materials. League likes to let the gemstone govern the wrap. She doesn't want the wire to overpower the gemstone and become the center of interest. Depending on the size and shape of the cabochon or bead, League never knows exactly how a piece will look until it is completed. The detail of the markings on each mineral or gem dictates the curve or bend of the wire. No two pieces are alike. League loves to attend gem and mineral shows to find that unique mineral piece or natural beads that have different shapes. She uses gold filled and sterling findings to create simple natural stone earring designs. While making her jewelry, the excitement and interest for League is in trying something new and different each time.

In the Art Center Sun Room you'll find artwork created by clients of the Estes Valley Victim Advocates. October is National Domestic Violence Awareness month. This year marks the third year that the Art Center has collaborated with Estes Valley Victim Advocates to encourage the clients to be creative and to provide a space to display their art.

The Art Center of Estes Park is a nonprofit organization which provides a facility to support the work of local and regional artists, striving to promote exhibition, education, and excellence in the visual arts. Proceeds benefit the artist and contribute to the Art Center's education and community outreach. The Art Center is located at 517 Big Thompson Avenue, in Middle Stanley Village, below Safeway and above Subway.

To register for classes, or for more information, please call the Art Center at 970-586-5882 or visit our website at artcenterofestes.com. We are currently working on a fall class schedule featuring intergenerational classes that can be attended by all ages.

We would like to encourage you to come out and join us Friday, Oct. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. to celebrate the arts in Estes Park.

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